Prince William speaks of his "deep sadness" after Malaysian Airlines crash

Prince William has said that his family”s thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of the Malaysian air crash.

During a visit to Australia House on Friday, the prince paid tribute to all those who lost their lives in Thursday”s devastating incident, which saw 298 people killed when flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine after taking off from Amsterdam.

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Prince William arriving at Australia House on Thursday

At least nine Britons were on-board, the airline has confirmed.

“For all of us who have lost countrymen and women in the tragedy, words cannot do justice to our sense of loss,” William said.

He added, “The crash is a particularly cruel tragedy coming so soon after the loss of MH370” – the missing Malaysian Airlines flight which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpar to Beijing on 8 March.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has also offered his condolences. He tweeted that the crash had left him “shocked and saddened” before revealing that he had spoken to the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. “I told him we grieve with him and the Dutch people,” he wrote.

Prince William”s visit to Australia House saw him unveil a bronze statue of the first explorer to circumnavigate Australia.

The statue of English navigator Matthew Flinders, who commanded the first ship to travel all the way around Australia between 1801 to 1803 and is believed to have coined the name “Australia”, will take pride of place at Euston Station.